Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., won the GOP primary after deciding to run in a district different from the one she narrowly won re-election in 2022, NBC News projects Tuesday.
Boebert defeated five other Republicans for the party’s nomination in Colorado’s 4th District, which opened after Speaker Ken Buck announced his resignation earlier this year. Given the region’s right-wing leaning, he will now be heavily favored to win a seat in the general election.
The two-term congressman won the neighboring 3rd District by 546 votes two years ago and faces the prospect of a rematch with well-funded Democrat Adam Frisch. Former President Donald Trump won the 4th District by 19 points and the 3rd District by 8 points in 2020. Calculations from Daily Kos Elections.
Backed by Trump, Boebert built a national profile as a conservative firebrand after winning a surprising 2020 GOP primary victory against then-Rep. Scott Tipton, in part, by promising to take on high-profile liberal figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D.N.Y.
“From the first day I run for office, I will do everything in my power to prevent socialists and communists from taking over our country,” Boebert said. in December when he announced his decision to run for the 4th District. “It means staying in the fight. But it also means not allowing the Hollywood elite and progressive money groups to buy the 3rd district.”
Boebert also said the move would be a “fresh start” after a difficult year for her personally, noting that she and her husband are divorcing. It was given to him temporary restraining order against her ex-husband in February. The congressman also grabbed the headlines for being last year removed from the musical Allegedly “vaping, singing [and] cause for concern”
Boebert chose not to run in a special election to serve out the remainder of Buck’s term, continuing to represent the 3rd District in Congress.
Instead, Republican George Lopez won a special election Tuesday to replace Buck, NBC News projects, meaning Lopez will soon head to the House and help fix a slim Republican majority. Lopez did not run for a full term, so he will only serve about six months in Congress.
A former state director of the Small Business Administration and former mayor of Parker, Colorado, Lopez has run for governor several times, including unsuccessfully in 2022 and 2018. some extreme right positionsIncluding questioning the results of the 2020 elections. He also does not support any exceptions to the abortion ban.
Tuesday’s primaries also set up a showdown in Colorado’s 8th District, expected to be one of the most competitive House races in the country.
As expected, state Rep. Gave Evans won the GOP primary to beat Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo, who won her first term in 2022, by just 1 percentage point. Evans was the top fundraiser in the GOP primary and won Trump’s endorsement in the race.